Hearsay Systems and software maker Moz say Edward Jones is the best-performing wealth management firm as measured by search engine optimization (or SEO).
The two firms gathered data for a week in April based on the use of phrases like “financial advisor,” “financial planning” and “wealth management” in the largest 5,000 U.S. cities and tracked the organic, local and paid results.
“Showing up near the top of a search-engine results page is the new imperative,” the report says. “Brands that don’t invest in SEO technologies and best practices are at a massive disadvantage. They are missing a huge opportunity.”
In local SEO, Edward Jones had “a dominant lead,” capturing almost 40% of total click share. This result included more than 7,000 of its roughly 15,000 advisors.
Morgan Stanley was the top firm in paid positioning, garnering nearly 20% of click share; Wells Fargo Advisors had 9%. According to Hearsay and Moz, UBS and Chase did well in paid search but not in organic or local search.
Edward Jones topped the overall category with 14.3% of click share vs. 7.9% for Morgan Stanley and 3.5% for Wells Fargo.
“I don’t think we were surprised. We are very pleased with the results,” said Jim Olsen, head of marketing and communications for Edward Jones.
“Our business [model] puts advisors in local communities where they can serve clients. We make sure we have a solid digital presence to connect clients with the right advisors at the right time.”